Perforating machine



Jan. 11,1955 c. H. OQLUBECK PERFORATING MACHINE- Filed June 20, 1950 lnvezvioz -C. HO.Lz Z/bec United States Patent PERFORATING MACHINE Carl Hilding Ossian Liibeck, Stockholm, Sweden Application June 20, 1950, Serial No. 169,135

Claims priority, application Sweden June 27, 1949 1 Claim. (Cl. 164-124) The present invention refers to perforating machines, particularly such as are used in the perforation of thin metal bands in so-called endless lengths involved in the manufacture of electrodes for alkaline accumulators. The perforation in view is provided by the plate material being pierced with needles of a small diameter amounting to about 0.15-0.25 mm., the material being not punched out of the holes but forced out by the respective needles, so that crater-shaped apertures with projecting edges will be formed. For special reasons, not to be considered here in detail, the perforation apertures are preferably arranged in rows, in a manner such that the apertures of every second row, transversely over the width of the band, that is to say at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the band, are displaced by half a perforation pitch relatively to the aperturesof the adjacent aperture row, whereby the apertures will be located in a zigzag relation to each other.

The present invention, which will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, refers to a method and an arrangement of the needle holder or needle attachment in machines for the production of such perforations. With reference to the attached drawings which depict the preferred forms of the invention and wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts:

Fig. l is a view illustrating a section of perforated band, in approximately its natural size.

Fig. 2 is a view on a greatly enlarged scale of the area marked by the chain-dotted circle in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a holder or attachment for the needles.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional View taken through the holder of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view on a greatly enlarged scale of the area marked by the chain-dotted circle of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 6 is a view on a greatly enlarged scale of the area marked by the chain-dotted circle in Fig. 4.

The holes of the perforated band are arranged as set forth above, and as shown in Fig. 2, the holes of rows 1 are displaced by half a perforation pitch 3 with respect to the holes of rows 2. As depicted in Fig. 1, lateral edges 4 of the band are preferably left non-perforated. The method aims at making two adjacent rows of apertures at the same time, that is to say, in every stroke. The needles 5 for the one and the needles 6 for the other of the two rows of apertures intended to be pierced at the same time are arranged in their displaced or zigzag relation by means of an intermediate member or distance plate 7, which is pleated or provided with recesses or needle positions, for instance in the manner disclosed in Fig. 5, into which the needles are to be inserted, the needles 5, 6 being adapted tobe fitted into their needle positions between hearings or pressing plates 8, 9 of a soft metal or some other suitable material, such as fibre, rubber and so forth, which will press against the respective outer sides of the needles when secured or jammed in between holders or jaws 2 10, 11 by means of screws or bolts 12. The distance plate 7 should preferably be made of rather hard metal or other suitable material and the pressing plates 8 and 9 of a material considerably softer than that used for the distance plate 7. The purpose of this arrangement is, that, when the distance plate 7 with its two rows of needles 5 and 6 and the pressing plates 8 and 9 are being jammed between the jaws 10 and 11 by means of the screws 12, the material of the pressing plates 8. and 9 should allow the free sides of the needles to sink or be pressed into the sides of the pressing plates as much as the slight differences betwen the diameters of the needles which might possibly exist. The distance plate 7, is, if desired, made beforehand, for instance by being pressed between grooved steel jaws made with the desired precision to obtain exact distances between the needles. By suitably selecting the thickness of the plate material used,

I the desired distance can be obtained between the two rows of needles. The distance between the holes made in the band by these two rows of needles and the next two rows of holes made by the same two rows of needles is determined by the feeding of the band or by the pitch of the feeding members in the perforating machine, in a manner known per se.

The arrangement shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and in Figs. 5 and 6, respectively, consisting of a needle holder with needles inserted therein, is intended to form a complete set of needles, which may be suitably arranged or secured in the perforating machine. Such complete needle sets may preferably be made exchangeable, so that the whole set of needles can be replaced by a stand-by set should any needle break. Broken needles may in turn be readily exchanged in the stand-by needle sets by slightly unscrewing the screws 12, whereupon damaged needles may be removed and new needles substituted, without the remaining needles being dislocated from their positions.

Obviously, the arrangement in view may be varied in a multiplicity of ways with respect to its construction and in its details without deviating in principle from the above disclosure.

I claim:

In a machine for perforating sheet material a needle holder comprising a needle accommodating member provided along opposed faces thereof with a series of alternating peaks and depressions, the peaks along one face being opposite the depressions of the other face, needles provided one in each of said depressions so as to form two rows of needles, with the needles of one row in staggered relationship to the needles in the other row, the depth of each depression being such that a portion of the periphery of each needle projects a slight distance beyond the peaks, two pressing plates of metal provided one on each side of the needle accommodating member, said pressing plates being of a softer material than the said member and having a flat surface in contact with the periphery of all the needles of the corresponding row, and clamping means for forcing said pressing plates into engagement with the needles to rigidly support the needles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 61,069 Hughes Jan. 8, 1867 738,877 Behringer Sept. 15, 1903 816,722 Froggatt Apr. 3, 1906 833,265 Van Emon Oct. 16, 1906 987,085 Fraser Mar. 14, 1911 1,091,083 Robbins Mar. 24, 1914 1,925,034 Fitzgerald Aug. 29, 1933 2,551,012 Kenah May 1, 1951 

